Sadiq Khan's Africa "trade mission" that cost more than £83,000 with 11 staff has sparked outrage.
Costing £83,921, the four-day trip saw the Mayor of London travelling with 11 staff, flying to Nigeria, Ghana and South Africa in summer this year as part of a mission to "bang the drum" for British business. The costs, broken down by day, equate to a £16,000 a day trip in the height of summer. Information released by City Hall, at the request of the Express, show some £68,330 was spent on flights, with a further £11,418 splashed on hotels. Ground transport cost £1,353, and food racked up a tab of some £2,818.
However, the trip, which was paid for by the taxpayer, saw the Mayor and his staff travelling in business class and premium economy, with accommodation and food paid for on expenses. A Freedom of Information (FOI) request by the Daily Express has revealed the startling figures, which critics slammed as an "absolutely disgusting waste of money". Conservative leader in London, Susan Hall, added Mr Khan "certainly knows how to spend money" and suggested he "stay at home and fix the problems here."
The Mayor also racked up around 258 tonnes of carbon emissions over the four-day trip, more than 22 times the average accrued by a UK family over an entire year. Eleven staff accompanied him on the journey, which saw him meet with students from the Atlas Foundation South Africa, a recipient of part of the £34 million the mayor has provided in a program aimed at investing in sport for young people.
Earlier this year it was reported that the Mayor and his team had clocked up some 473,000 airmiles, enough to fly to the moon and bank again. However, when reporters who asked about a proposed third runway at Heathrow in 2024 he said that "we don't want more flights".
City Hall confirmed that the event was not funded using private sponsorship, with the tab picked up by the Greater London Authority (GLA). It is understood that the costs revealed in the FOI do not account for expenses claims or repayments made by staff following the end of the visit.
Over the course of the trip, Sadiq and his team travelled twice in business class, once in premium economy, and twice in economy. The Mayor's office stressed that they always tried to reduce travel costs, despite two legs of the journey being business class. City Hall said that the trip was part of the Mayors "determination to support business and economic growth" by strengthening ties between London and other cities around the world.
Elliot Keck, the campaign director at the TaxPayers' Alliance, suggested that Londoners would be "outraged to see their cash being used for Sadiq Khan and his team to go galavanting across the globe".
He said: "Hard-working Londoners are paying hand-over-fist for this jet-setting mayor while crime surges and local services crumble."
He added: "Sadiq Khan should be focusing on delivering for the people of London, not going on jollys to far-flung destinations."
As part of that visit, which saw the Mayor fly more than 10,000 miles from the United Kingdom to Africa, City Hall says they committed "their cities to working together in combating the climate crisis".
A spokesperson for the Mayor told the Express that Mr Khan was "proud to visit Africa" and was the first London Mayor to have "led a trade mission to the continent".
It is understood that the Mayor is not a trade envoy, but the Department for Business and Trade have engaged with the Mayor to support the visit.
